This invention relates to vacuum cleaners, and more particularly to corded handheld vacuum cleaners that have revolving brushes.
Corded handheld vacuum cleaners with revolving brushes are well-known. The electric motor for driving the brush is usually mounted with its rotational axis perpendicular to the rotational axis of the brush. However, this arrangement requires that the belt between the motor and brush be twisted, which increases wear of the belt. Further, such vacuum cleaners are generally rather bulky.
Motors are often secured using hardware such as motor mounting plates, which are attached to the vacuum cleaner housing. However, such mounting hardware is often so rigid that undesirable motor vibrations are transferred to the vacuum housing. Excessive mounting hardware can also increase the cost and complexity of a vacuum cleaner.
The belts typically used to drive the suction fan and the cooling fan also add to the complexity of many vacuum cleaners and may fail unexpectedly. Further, with many handheld vacuums the portion of the vacuum housing adjacent to the intake orifice is relatively flat, so that flat cleaning surfaces tend to obstruct the orifice and reduce the airflow through the vacuum. The intake orifice of conventional handheld vacuums is also often surrounded by a lip that can make it difficult or impossible to clean next to vertical surfaces.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide a vacuum cleaner in which the rotational axis of the motor lies parallel to the rotating brush axis so that the vacuum is more compact and thus lighter in weight than would otherwise be possible and so that it is not necessary to twist the belt that is used to drive the brush.
It would also be desirable to be able to eliminate unnecessary motor mounting hardware and reduce the effect of motor vibrations.
It would further be desirable to be able to place suction and cooling fans within a vacuum housing in such a way that the vacuum can be made more compact and thus lighter in weight than would otherwise be possible.
It would also be desirable to be able to provide a vacuum cleaner housing having an intake orifice that does not become obstructed when placed on a flat cleaning surface, and which is not encumbered by a lip surrounding the intake orifice, so that the vacuum can clean effectively adjacent to vertical surfaces.
It would also be desirable to be able to provide a vacuum cleaner housing having suction fan and exhaust chambers shaped to reduce noise and increase suction efficiency.
It would also be desirable to be able to provide a vacuum cleaner housing having deflection ribs in the vicinity of the rotating brush that deflect any dirt entering the vacuum cleaner intake orifice, so that such dirt is caught up in the air drawn into the vacuum cleaner, rather than being deflected back toward the intake orifice.